Casey Mayes - A Killer Column

He nodded, refusing to rise to her baiting. “Don’t sweat it. I’ll have it fixed in no time.”

“ ‘No time’ is what I’ve got. I’m demanding a new room.”

He shrugged. “Lady, I can’t help you with that. I’m just the maintenance man.”

“Then I suggest you leave and return with someone who can.”

If the man was upset by her treatment of him, he didn’t show it. “Yes, ma’am. Right away.”

As he left, Sylvia said, “I’ve had enough of this foolishness.”

“From me, or the hotel?” I asked.

“In equal amounts,” she said.

Sylvia grabbed her suitcase, kicked the telephone book away from the door, and walked out of her room. We had no choice but to follow.

“What are you going to do now?”

“I’m going to the front desk and demand a suite for all of the trouble they’ve caused me. It’s the least they can do.”

“Good luck with that,” I said.

As she marched to the elevator, Jenny asked me, “Should we follow her?”

“No, I doubt we’ll get much more out of her. Did you see her face when I told her that someone tried to kill Kelsey today?”

Jenny thought about it, and then answered, “I’d say she was hearing it for the first time, wouldn’t you?”

I nodded. “I think so, too, but then again, she’s mastered a game that allows her to bluff, plot, and plan, so I’m not sure how much we can trust any of her reactions.”

“I never thought about it quite that way before,” Jenny said. “Who’s next on our list?”

“I think it’s time we spoke with Brady again,” I said. Sylvia was still waiting on an elevator as we walked past her.

I asked her, “Do you happen to know what room Brady’s staying in at the hotel?”

She arched an eyebrow. “You don’t honestly believe that sweet little Brady could be a murderer, do you?”

“I don’t know what to believe,” I said, “but I thought you’d welcome the chance to get me off your back.”

Sylvia shrugged, and then said, “He’s in the room beside mine. We checked in at the same time.”

“How interesting,” I said.

“Don’t read anything into it, Savannah. We met to discuss Derrick’s behavior before our meetings, so naturally, we checked in together.”

The elevator pinged once, and the doors opened. There was a woman in a suit with a clipboard who stepped out as Sylvia stepped in.

The woman approached Sylvia’s room, knocked tentatively at the door, and then knocked again, louder this time.

“She just left,” I volunteered.

“What? I was told she was going to wait on me.”

“I have a feeling you’ll find her downstairs at your front desk,” I said.

The woman bit her lip, and then turned back to the elevator. As she waited for it to open, I took Jenny’s arm and we walked to Brady’s room and knocked.

“I’ve been waiting all day for you,” a beautiful young brunette in a purple satin nightgown said as she opened the door.

“You’re not Lee,” she added with a pout when she saw that it was us.

“Sorry, we must have the wrong room,” I said.

She closed the door, and I looked at Jenny. “Too bad Zach wasn’t with us. He would have enjoyed that.”

“But not as much as you’re going to like telling him what he missed, I’ll wager,” Jenny said.

I smiled at her. “You know what? You’re right. This way is a lot more fun.”

We walked to the door on the other side of Sylvia’s room, and I knocked again.

“Yes?” a voice called out from inside.

“Brady, it’s Savannah Stone. I need to speak with you.”

There was a long pause, and then Brady replied, “This isn’t a great time for me. Could we do it later?”

“It will just take a second,” I said, wondering why Brady was stalling. Was it possible that Cary Duncan was there with him? I had to see that to believe it, but it would give Brady another reason to want Derrick dead, if it was true.

“Brady?” I asked as I knocked again.

“I’m coming,” he said, and after a full minute, he finally opened the door, but just barely enough to look out through. I could see that he didn’t have shoes on, his shirt had been buttoned out of order, there was a torn piece of paper stuck to one foot, and his belt was missing two loops. That was just what I could see from where I was standing.

“What can I do for you, Savannah?” He didn’t even notice Jenny standing beside me.

“May we come in?” I asked as sweetly as I could manage.

“Hang on,” he said as he ducked back inside.

“What’s going on?” Jenny asked softly. “Is there someone in there with him?”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I’m going to find out.”

Thirty seconds later, Brady came out so fast that I couldn’t even see into his room. He had loafers on, his hair had been hurriedly combed, but his shirt was still buttoned one buttonhole off. His door was slightly open as he stepped out, propped open with one heel, as if he thought he might need to retreat back inside without digging out his room key.

“We can talk out here,” he said.

“Wouldn’t we be more comfortable in your room?”

He shook his head. “No, this is fine. I should warn you, Savannah, I’m not in the mood for this.” It was clear by his tone of voice that he was agitated before I got to ask a single question.

Okay, if he wanted to play it that way, I’d have to change my approach. I would have rather played ‘good cop’ if I could, but sometimes folks just didn’t respond to that approach. It was time to stop messing around and get down to business. “Brady, where were you this afternoon?”

He looked surprised by the question. “I had a few errands to run around town. Why?”

“So you admit that you were outside the hotel?” Jenny asked.

“Yes, I just said that, didn’t I?”

“Someone tried to kill Kelsey Hatcher today. Was it you?”

“What?” he asked, clearly startled by the question. “No. Of course not. That’s ridiculous. Why would I want to hurt Kelsey?”

“Perhaps she planned to cancel your puzzles as well,” I said. “That would explain why you killed Derrick, and then made a try for Kelsey.”

“Savannah, have you lost your mind? I didn’t kill Derrick, and I certainly wouldn’t do anything to harm Kelsey.”

“It’s easy to claim, but your alibis aren’t great, are they? You say that you were sitting in your car when Derrick was murdered, something no one can confirm, and you admit to being out on the streets when someone tried to kill Kelsey Hatcher earlier today.”

He looked more worried than outraged by my accusation. “But I didn’t have anything to do with either of those events.”

“Why should we believe you?”

“There’s no use trying to protect me,” Kelsey Hatcher said as she stepped out of Brady’s room.

She looked at me as she added, “Brady wouldn’t hurt me, Savannah. We’re in love.”

“ IN LOVE?” I ASKED. “HOW LONG HAVE YOU TWO BEEN TOGETHER?”

“Seven months,” Brady said as he took her hand in his. “I’m the one who recommended Kelsey to Derrick for the assistant’s position. She needed a job, and I wanted to do anything I could to help.”

That certainly put a new spin on things. If she was telling the truth.

“I’m not sure you did her any favors by recommending her,” I said.

Kelsey put her arm around Brady. “Trust me; I was happy to take the job, even though Brady kept warning me to watch out for Derrick. He was a bit of a ladies’ man, and my Brady is the jealous type. Derrick could be difficult to work for, but I learned so much from him. Besides, if I hadn’t taken this job, I wouldn’t be running the syndicate now for Cary.”